Expert explains dangers of heatstroke in children left in cars during heat waves
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- The Bay Area heat has all our brains feeling fried and sometimes even forgetful. But when you forget your child in the car on a hot day, it can be deadly and has been 35 times this year nationwide.
Thankfully, there are things you can do to keep your little ones safe.
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For parents out there, this scenario may sound familiar:
You're coming home from the grocery store, maybe distracted by a phone call, and your child is napping in their car seat.
You turn off your car and continue with your conversation into your home. But left sitting in the backseat: your child.
With our recent Bay Area heat wave, Noheatstroke.org Founder Jan Null says a car's temperature can quickly make this moment deadly.
"With 90 degrees today in some places in the Bay Area and maybe even hotter, we're looking at 135 (degrees) plus," Null said. "Those are just not survivable temperatures for an adult, but especially for a child."
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Null says in the first 10 minutes after turning off a car, temperatures shoot up 20 degrees - which would be around 120 degrees based on Thursday's highs in San Jose.
Heat that children and toddlers can't handle because their internal temps rise 3 to 5 times faster than adults.
"So, you and I can be in a car that's 120 degrees, 130 degrees and we'd be really uncomfortable really rapidly," Null said. "But within a short amount of time, that can be a fatal incident for a child."
It has been fatal 35 times nationwide this year.
Null says about a quarter of the cases come from negligence - believing it's not too hot to leave a child in the car.
Another 25% of cases are when kids end up in cars on their own.
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But half of the deaths are the result of accidents when a child is forgotten in their car seat. Like what happened in Moraga in 2018 when Lily Aracic died.
"It happens to the entire socio-economic spectrum from professionals all the way down to the unemployed," Null said.
Null says there are ways to help you remember.
Some cars are equipped with safety reminders for kids in the backseat, but he says you can use items as a reminder.
You can put important items like a wallet or purse in the backseat or an item in the front seat, like a stuffed animal, to help you remember your little one.
These are steps that seem simple but can be life-saving on hot days like today.
